Welcome to the home of the backcountry skiing blog from Off-Piste Magazine. Here we post backcountry ski gear reviews, feature stories and avalanche safety advice, plus ski news, events and more.
Abandoned – A Film about Lost Ski Areas Abandoned is about a crew of backcountry skiers who set out to explore Colorado’s lost ski areas in hopes to find adventure amongst the ruins. Instead, they discover the truth behind what made these areas close their doors for good and illustrates what skiing used to be like before mega resorts and… Read More
Outdoor Research San Juan Jacket When is the last time you skied in the rain? Hopefully, it’s been long enough that you can’t recall. I ask because many skiers are too concerned with full waterproof protection when choosing a jacket for backcountry skiing. The reality is that the number of days we spend ski touring in truly wet conditions is limited…. Read More
Ski Mountaineering Harnesses As a skier first and a mountaineer second, it’s not that often I use a harness while ski touring. But when the going gets technical or crevassed, you don’t want to be left wishing you had a harness with you. Here are two great ski mountaineering harnesses that give you no excuse to leave them at home…. Read More
It’s never too early to inspire your spring and summer volcano ski objectives. The DPS film crew travelled to Chile in search of mountain culture and skiing to brings us WALLMAPU. The Pehuenche people of present-day Chile speak Mapudungun: ‘the language of the land.’ This land, their universe, is known as Wallmapu. Two skiers enter into a breathtaking creation of… Read More
Ski Waxing for the Backcountry Backcountry skiing is a far cry from ski racing, but freshly waxed skis are still important to keep you sliding and slashing through the pow with ease. And the good news is that ski waxing for the backcountry is not rocket science. In fact, it’s down right simple. You just need a few basic tools… Read More
G3 Alpinist+ Climbing Skins – Glide Model I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; climbing skins are one of the most underrated pieces of gear we use. Yet without skins, we can’t do what we do, climb up to ski down. Having used nearly every type of skin available over the years, I have a strong preference for skins… Read More
Ski Waxing and Tuning Bench If you want to spend anytime doing your own ski maintenance, a solid ski waxing and tuning bench is important. Between keeping my skis ready to roll, setting up test gear and working on friends’ gear, my ski bench sees use multiple times per week. Ski widths exceeded the width of my traditional ski vices years ago, and… Read More
Eco-Wax Ski Wax Last year we reviewed a product called SnowShed, a silicone-based spray for ski top sheets that helps reduce snow build-up while touring. The spray is environmentally friendly, sourced in the USA and it works to help keep your top sheets free of snow. This season, the company, now called mountainFLOW eco-wax, has expanded their line to include two… Read More
Avalanche Transceiver – Chest Harness or Pants Pocket Standard protocol for wearing an avalanche transceiver has long been strapped to your chest in it’s harness. In the last handful of years, more and more skiers are moving to storing their beacons in a pant pocket. Using a pant pocket makes for convenient access when doing morning transceiver checks, can help… Read More
DPS Shadow Campaign – Ski Photographer DPS Skis presents the latest in their ski film series – Ski Photographer Drawn to the mountains in search of the ski bum lifestyle, Oskar Enander had no intention of ever becoming a ski photographer. Today, Oskar’s iconic and unique perspective is highly sought after in the ski world. And yet, he shoots very… Read More
Osprey SnowKit Duffel – Packing for Ski Travel The joys of air travel for skiing – it’s a mix of anticipation for the adventure to come and dread at the possibility that your gear may not arrive when you do. It only takes getting skunked on arrival without some piece of critical gear once to appreciate the ability to carry… Read More
Defunkify – Enzyme-Based Detergent Review You know the drill. Pull a shirt out of your bag, drawer or off the pile on the floor and see if it passes the sniff test to wear another day. It seems like the older the layer, the lower the chance it will pass the test. Nothing develops it’s own special funk quite like… Read More
Ski Dreams – DPS Cinematic Volume V – The Abbey Getting closer to winter . . . DPS skis offers fresh fuel to stoke the ski dreams. Shadow Campaign Volume V – Episode I – The Abbey A lone skier arrives in town, only to find abysmally wet and soggy conditions. Seeking respite from the rain, he finds solace and redemption… Read More
Climbing Skin Maintenance and Glue Renewal Climbing skin glue does not last forever. It gets dirty, it gets patchy and it can get gooey. All of these problems leave your climbing skins performing poorly, and there’s nothing like lame skin glue to wreck an otherwise excellent day of skiing. But there are some climbing skin maintenance tips to help you avoid… Read More
Climbing Skin Care Tips Dysfunctional climbing skins are frustrating at best and can put an early end to a day of backcountry skiing at worst. Fortunately, most climbing skin problems issues can be overcome in the field or, better yet, avoided through proper care and use. The following climbing skin care tips will help keep your skins to keep doing what they… Read More
